Pilikia Mākēneki (Trouble Magnet)
by Deliwiel
Summary: Steve has a cold, but before he goes home he makes a quick pit stop at the grocery store. Nothing could go wrong, right?


"Steve, we got this! Go home!" Danny insisted as he looked at his partner. His arm was in a sling after chasing down a suspect in an old two-story warehouse and having the floor collapse under him four days ago. To top it off, he had been sniffling, coughing and sneezing since yesterday, and his eyes were red and puffy.

"No, Danny, I'b good!" Steve tried convincing him. Danny simply raised skeptical eyebrows at him.

"Look babe, I've got Grace this weekend, and I don't want to catch a cold before I get to go spend three days with my daughter," he said forcefully.

"It's dot a cold," Steve lied. "I just hab allergies!" The Jersey native scoffed.

"Yeah, well, even if it is 'just allergies,' you're still spreading germs around. Go home! We've got this under control. We just need to get Kaikao to tell us where he hid the money and then we'll all be scott-free for the weekend. Just get a head start on yours. I promise we won't go chasing down any bad guys without you." Of course that was a lie, Danny thought. If there were bad guys that needed to be chased down, there was no way he was telling Steve about it, not with how bad he sounded and looked. Steve glared at his partner, but the blond refused to back down. "I will knock you out and drag you home if I have to!" He threatened.

Steve was about to make his retort when he sneezed, coughed, sneezed twice more, and then coughed and sneezed at the same time. "Aaaaaggghhhh!" he groaned, covering his face with his good hand.

"Case in point," Danny muttered as he got out the clorox wipes and wiped down wherever Steve had touched within the last two minutes. "Seriously. Go home Steven." He expected more of a fight, but was pleasantly surprised when the SEAL nodded and went into his office to grab his things. "Do you need me to drive you home?"

"No, Danny, I'b good. I'b perfecdtly fide to drive byself hobe," Steve said tiredly. He walked towards the glass doors and pulled them open with his good hand.

"Don't forget to take your pain meds for your arm!" Danny yelled after his friend. Steve waved, whether it was trying to tell Danny to leave him alone, or in a goodbye gesture, Danny wasn't sure. He was just glad his stubborn partner finally listened to him for once.

Steve got out to his truck and pulled the door open, climbing into the driver's seat somewhat lethargically. He knew Danny was right; he had a cold, and it was a doozy. He just didn't want to admit it. Not to mention his arm had been hurting for a while, he admitted to himself. He would have insisted on staying and finishing the case, but Danny had been threatening to do some nasty things if Steve continued to ignore his body's needs, and Steve didn't doubt his partner's sincerity in what he threatened.

He started his truck and started driving, deciding making a small detour to the local grocery store. He just needed a few things and then he'd head home. Danny would never know, and it was actually chicken noodle soup and a heat pack that he was here to get, so even if he did know about the detour, he would have no right to be mad.

Steve wandered the aisles of the store, grabbing a few things here and there and sticking them in the small cart he was pushing around. He had just grabbed a pack of six boxes of tissues when he heard cries of fear and alarm from the front of the store. He hurried to peer around the shelf, accidentally hitting his injured arm. He held back a grunt of pain, ducking behind the shelf. He took a steadying breath, pushing away the pain so he could focus.

He had seen three men in ski masks at the front of the store, all with guns. They were in the process of taking valuables from the customers, as well as the cash from the cash register. He looked around, trying to find anything that could help him. He made eye contact with a young mother and her son, who looked no older than 8 or 9. Their eyes were wide with fear, and he held a finger to his lips, giving them a reassuring smile. They nodded imperceptibly, turning their wide eyes back to the gun-toting men in front of them. Steve pulled out his phone and dialed his partner's number before placing his phone on a shelf after he heard Danny answer. He stood up and made it look like he was rummaging through the items in his cart as he walked around the corner, playing like he didn't know there was anything going on. That was, until he had a gun shoved in his face and men were screaming at him.

"Get on the ground! Pull out your wallet and put it in this bag!" one of them shouted at him.

"Alrighd, alrighd, here, take id," Steve said, pulling out his wallet and placing it in the burlap sack. He glanced over at the woman from earlier, who was giving him a disappointed look. He ignored it though, as he watched the three men confer in a small huddle. Suddenly, there were sirens wailing from a short distance away, making everyone jump. One of the men hurried to the door, peering outside as the other two tried to wrangle the hostages into a circle.

As they got closer to Steve, he jumped up and delivered a roundhouse kick to one of the men, sending him tumbling to the ground. The other two yelled in surprise as they tried to rush him. Unfortunately for them, even if he was one handed, they were no match for Steve.

Danny barged into the store, gun drawn, just as Steve finished securing the men's hands behind their backs, one with his handcuffs, the other two with zip ties he had in his pockets. Steve grabbed his wallet out of the bag and handed the bag to everyone else so they could gather their valuables. Danny lowered his weapon, giving his partner an exasperated look.

"Only you!" He exclaimed, waving his hands around like a madman.

"Odly be what?"

"Only you, Steven, could be told to go home and relax, DISOBEY that order, and get caught in a hostage situation! You are a trouble magnet!" He looked around. "What were you doing here anyway?" Steve held up the can of chicken noodle soup.

"I thoughd it would be a good idea to have sobething like this to eat," he said with no regret in his voice. Danny rubbed his forehead. "You can't be bad at be, Daddy," he insisted.

"Daddy?! Did you just call me Daddy?!"

"Daddo, listed, I cad't talk proberly, I'b dot beadidg to call you Daddy," Steve defended.

"Just...go home. Please? Please go home?" Steve held up his hands in surrender, walking out to his truck. Danny hurried over to him. "Steve?" His partner paused and turned back to him. Danny held up his cell phone. "You're going to want this, just in case you need me to come save you again."

"Please," Steve said as he took the phone. "I just deeded sobeode to doe what was goid od," he insisted. Danny rolled his eyes as Steve climbed into his truck and pulled out of the parking lot. Chin walked up to him.

"If you want a peaceful weekend with Grace, I would suggest turning off your cellphone, or at least blocking all calls from him for a few days," he jokingly suggested. Danny shook his head.

"I would, Chin. I can't though. Having a SuperSEAL as a partner is bad enough, but add the fact that he's a trouble magnet on top of that, and he's bound to get into some sort of trouble again before the weekend is over. It's now my occupational hazard to be on call for him," he replied.

Not that he minded terribly. Steve was like a brother to him, and he would do anything for him to keep him safe.


End file.
